Hood control for motor cars



Nov. 2, 1943. I A. CLAUD-MANTLE 2,333,465

HOOD CONTROL FOR MOTOR CARS Filed March 6, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 2,1943.

HOOD CONTROL FOR MOTOR CARS Filed .March '6, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet '2 -e O$157.6 6 V I A. CL'AUD-MANTLE 2,333,465

Nov. 2, 1943. A, CLAUD-MANTLE HOOD CONTROL FOR MOTOR CARS I Filed March6, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I g] wcwbom MEZMW tenthas been released. e r rAnother purpose ofhtheainvention is to pro- 1 cree -This-inventionrelates to hood controls for mo- ,tori icars,: and morekparticu'larly tolatch "mechanisms used with=hoods of the lidtype where a latchcontrolled fromthe dash is employed, there,

being in. addition the usualf safety catch or ,dog to maintain the hood'under control "after it has beenizreleased and' opened .to aslight-degree. IIponsuitably manipulating: a member in th caninterior,avshiftable latching member is released, and a spring comes into playtoraise the hood toia limited, degree; Then,rafter the-safety catchhasvheen released'by ithe attendant, the hood can be swung'cto the fullyopened position.

; {One ofithe: objects of my invention isto .pro-.

vide aniimprovedzan'd simplified latching mechanism'for use in :devicesof thisf class. 1

, Another object is to vfurnish an improved end 015 the car;- and'the'fhood' carries a-gt ra'nsvers plate, termed'the upperfplatprovidedwith ax 1 safety -catch o-r dog Which cooperats with ithe front portionof a-lower plate held fixedly in po tion withinthe casingportion-adjacent-the radia I tor of the'car; Between"theupper-liitable{plate 1 and the lower-fixed: plategthe're i's-zalso provided: alatching mechanism comprising a' s'hiftable de tent part controlled fromthe interior-mi the car, this l detentj part cooperatinggwitnalatching'member or keepercarriedbythe j upper plate; f and springmechanism is providedfor liftin'g the hood-to a, limiteddegreelimmediately" upon-re lease of they detent;

spr ngs-mechanism foricausing opening of the hood; to a. certainextentaafter the latch or de vide; an improved formuoflatching keeperfor use in devices of this kind,

. T these anduothergends" the invention con sists; the novel-featuresand combinations of I parts to ,be'hereinafter described (and claimed. f

il he co an in drawings;

, .-ig;.;.1f is a=side elevation, 1 partlybroken: away andpartly insection, of a, hood control device embodying my improvementsfshowing thehood if l'riI-ti efu c o d p ion;-

1f,.p art1y in section a1ong;line-2.- 2 of- Fig-."1; ;,Flg. is anenlargedsection, on line 3-13 voi,

' Fig". 1;

i 3 QQ P Ql r-Iof a'i rtibnjdlf he mi per plate showing,- the fasteningmeans for the,

and'its associated mechanism;

f'jFig is an enlarged transversesection through, thefju rand lowerplates showing the latch mechanism in the fully closed position;

snbwnin g.5; ,e

Figjfi 'sfa section on line, s s er'Fig. 5; ,7 is affside' elevationpartlyin section, show'ngthe latch mechanism of Fig.' fully re- -ieasedand the hoodpushedvupwardly as far as permitted by the controllingspring; jglfi is aseotional view similartoiFigihg-show a modification ofthe device, and v,

f g.f9' is a section on line 9.9 of Fig t. 7 1 f In'theformsofmy'deviceselected for illustr o a j Fig. 4 is aibottom pa ymwbrthlower pea Y ",1Fig. 5 isj'a bottom planiview of certain ;parts- {themovable part, which I refer to'j'as the] I'lS ofthe-lid' type, Openingfrom; the? flbnt F ig..2 is,a plan view of, certain parts shown s In the'drawings-fthe' hood proper is 7 shown at ID; the lower casing'part ofth ejhood enclosure, at I, the upper plate 12, and thelower plate at 13.Thesafety catch'oridogwcarrie'd by the U upper plate is shown at; and'ithisicooperates in the usual manner .withanotched portion I I5;in..the"front-..edge portion of thelower plate, and this safety catchiscontrolled'in the usualman-' ner by a,.suitable spring,"forwexamplegaspring suchxas indicated -.at 'l6. The shiftable detent, 25'

previouslysreferred.to; is shown at I1, and. this niaybecon-trolled fromthe dash IB' of the vehicle by-means such as a knob l9 connected totherear endofafc'able 'Ihekeeper. previously referred to, is indicatedat. and is of new form and are rangement, as hereinafter morep'articularlyqdescribed,- and the; spring mechanism '22 which 1' urgesthe hood upwardly, uponjits release, isalso i of :novel construction andarrangement,, asgherel-" inaftenmoreparticularly'described,--

. k 1 The ,det'ent member I! mayyb'e, oi a type "previeouslyjemployed,in other Words, in the form of a lever pivoted to the lowerjplate at 23andhaving a free; extremity. 24;, to which the end. of cable20ais5operably connected; This lever cooperates with'keeper 2| inthemannerhereinafter -de+ scribed. In'the form Showrnthe pivoted end-{por-i tion of the detent lever is disposed beneath plate Wand; pivotedtothe plate lby a suitable rivet member-having ahead 25; Midway of itsends the lever passesthrough;an arcuate guide slot. 26 in the plate, tothe upper side 1 of the plate," and at the upperside ofthe plateis-provided with a down turned lug 21 operating'in-an' arcuate' slot 28,, The lug 2'l has connected thereto a helical spring 29, theotherendof which isjconnected to'the plate at so, theeaction' r this spring, 29J i beingnormallyfto hol d, .lev er ll in the position" f shown infullElines in Fig.2, where it'has holding};

bolt; v

relation with respect" to keeper 2 Upon pulling 1 e V the cablef 20, the'leveris; shiftedto release the ,throughfanfop V 'lever I 1,''an'd'a1sointo cooperatioiiwith the this upwardly facing shoulder 33. Above this.shoulder'the width of the head 'isireduced ,v shown at 34, and thisportion is formed integral"; with a shankportion 35, which extendsupwardly toil; a suitable manner. I

i ineema- Fig. "2 it will be observed that the notch I for the safetycatch is disposed slightly to oneside of the longitudinal axis of platel3, and that keeper 2| is disposed slightly to the other side of suchaxis so as to cooperate withlever I! in a region of the lever which isrelatively close to the lever pivoti The. keeper 2| is carried by the uper aieb t a d ;v i e prqiected, ing 3 l 5 into cooperation with-thespring mechanism 22. v

The keeper'Zl is of novel I r form having a relat tively thin and'fiathead 32 withiashqulde 33 at one sideadapted to engage the undersurfaceoutwardly to form the bail portion which acts on the keeper head.As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the coil of the spring is preferably arrangedforwardly, and the bail portion at the rear, but this arrangement is notessential.

Inthe particular form shown, the coil portion 44 of the spring islocated adjacent the forward edge of the lower plate, l3,,an d i s held,in place, when theikeeperis inactive, by the engagement of the coilportion with seem-turned lip or ,il ange l3 on the plate, by theengagement of the spring extremities in the seat or depression filgand,byfthe engagement of the bail portion of thespring withthe loweredges of the keeper of the detent lever. \The 1ower part or tn eepeihead'is made wider so as to presentatone 'sid through-theupper plate l2and is attached therethe efer ed form. t e k isfthrea'ded passes'upwardly; through; an opening 36 in platen and into aninteriorlyt-threaded member Hoin'theform of aplate having end extensionsibytmeans of which it -is spotwwelded lifl'splate thinagrecessed,portiong39 at'the. upper face of }-the latter.*Bi gthisconstruction thepart 31 acts as;;a, ;fix ed threadedsocket into which the shank I oithekeeper; c,an;be ;s crewed. Forfirmly holding the keeperiinthe-verticalpositionito which it is adjusted; a lock-,nutlfliszusedaatithelowergfa'ce of plate I2.

It In orderrto-facilitate theentranceot'the'keeper'ingj,"as;above*described.o From the coil the free extremit siaredirected upwardly and rearwar'dly to engage their holding socket, whilethe .jzibail-form'ing? aiims-orportions of the spring aredirecteddownwardly from the coil and then upwardly,as shown in Fig. 7.

a It-isthou-ght that theioperation of the-device Willbe manifestfromzgthe previous description.

" Assuming: that itheihood member. "his in the head; into the opening 31in the lower plate the .7

opening is preferably formed. in part to present 7 the profile showninrFig. .3; the material of. plate 1%31 beinggbent toprovide guiding andcentering portions 4| at therespective sides otthexslot like opening.a'Thes'e portions flzextend inwardly where the bail; portionzof thespringcomes in and downwardly 'toerigage andguide thekeeper as zit'moves'to the locking. position, and prefer ablygas show-n 3,*part'.s ofthe portions are disposed abovethetplaneof.plate |.e,-:wnue other partsare belovvsaidt' planei Immediately 1 backof thefportionslllfitheopening-3 1: has a plain slot-like portion 4-2 L;immediately beneathwhich a latching portion' 43 ofathe lever H is In' my improvedhdevicei,the spring 22; previousl'y mentioned; actsidire'ctly-upon the headdisposed:

off'the keeperjso as tol urge -theasame and the eontactr'with the un'denpantof the lower plate; The lower edge of the keeper-rests-"agai'nst themiddle! part? of the kiaiL which 'middlie part' preferably hasidownwardlywonvergingand centering portions, as indicated 3 i 1 Intheip'osition; of'Eig the hood-member will be opento a-substantiaextent; but will ,iiot be open 130 the full-extent permittedby thesafetycatch I4. It will: be possiblef'for the attendant v to insert hi's ha'ndmto--the"opening, an'd, by enparts connected thereto inanupwardd'irectioni ,I' prefer to form the spring-22 or suitable=-'wire anditoprovide it i with an intermediate lbail'-.por'- tio'n'whi'ch engag'esthekeeper'head I-n the form shownin Figs-l to 7, inclusive, the I springcom; prises a m'ain' co'iliportiori J4 carried by the lower plate andhaving a pen portion 4 5, "theend l6,

ofwhich extends across an'd isadaptedto engage theflower edgeoi the'keeper'he'a'd ih tlieinannershown in Fig; 5 When the hoodt'is-raisedthe'bailportion of the springeng-ageslips fil' at the-lower edges of theportions] ii" but when the 5 .7 ref-ed tothe positioniof' Fig. 51Preferably" the V egtrernities oj, the springlwi're, WhichFareindif'cated at flj are alongside of each other inia I holding depression '48in plate 13', and-from each extremity the spring wire. passes forwardlyto v bec e a r of c o it ji ifl a t e mi portion of the coil,f,'an'dfromthej middle portion the'wir is extended to the endsiof the coill'and7 froinjotheend's ofthe' coil'th' wire is projected is, closed thebail-Lportion of the'spring is gaging a pad portion M atthe" upperend ofthe: safety catchgmove the safety catch on its pivot I l} to a positionextremity M iS sWur-lg out 'of cooperative engagem'ent 'with the j frontportio'nfof the" Iowerpla'te: The h'ood can -them be pizs'hed upwardlyforthe complete opening of the same:

When the hood closfedagain; the b'olt head moves dewn-ante-Eits not inthe" l'oweriplateand a curved edge portion 32j-- thereof Qengages andpushes-back thenet nt{le er so "that t e latter snaps over thefihOlildBfOlil the holthe'ad tolock ethe bolt'i's'i forced by downwardthrust on the hood toward thefl'ocki ng position, it'fe n gage's andenergizes'the' spring 22F It will be.- evident that in; the latchingpositionthe .keeperfwill be effective to increase the, firmness 'ofjthseating and interlock of th'e' spring withthe lower plate. the formshown l'ilfFi'gS 8 and 9,. the,ke'e per shank'3f5' is heldin'positionrelatively tothe' up'per,

There is a diiierencealso iii liespect to the term 61" thekeeper-engaging spring 222;; In this'case h e emiti 5 f es rihe areatthe sides ofithel's'prihg spacedirelatibnsl'lip t'c each tn gznd areheld' in. placeb'y clips 'szieifvet a $5 l 99%;? was? Of sta e-Ft ewhich 'it's lower ihboked been installed.

, spring is interlocked eated at forth the bail project from .the innerparts of 65 which are laterally spaced from each other.

By the construction" described, a very simple 9 and effective latchmechanismrbetween the upper and lower members of the hood casing orenclosure is provided, which can be easily controlled from theinteriorof the car, and is durable and will withstand hard usagewithoutgettingout of order. As the keeper head is-moved through thelower plate to the latching position, it isproperly Without difficulty.The spring mechanism," by which the membersof the hood enclosure-arenormally held separated to a certain extent, is very simple andeffective in action after the spring has position without s'cri'b'edtheywill be conveniently accessible for ments are necessary.

It will maintain its operative]. difiiculty. It will also be noted that,with the parts arranged in the manner'de guided so thatthe latching,action will take effect being providedforwardly of the keeper slot witha downward projection, a spring actingon the lower edge of the keeperhead for urgingthe keeper. inlan upward direction and having a] coilabutted againstsaid projection and an anchoring portion interlookedwitha 'portion of'the plate V I .4, In a hood latch comprising'upper andlower plates of which the upper carries a depending rigid keeper with. aflattened head having a-nar- While I haveshown two forms of my improved.

hood control device, it will-beunderstood that the invention can beembodied in various other forms,

so that the sprin g' is held in operative position under tension.

row lower edge,the lower plate being provided with movable detent' meansadapted' to overlie thekeeper head, a spring having a bail portionextending across and acting on the. lower edge of the keeper head forurgingthe keeperin an up- -ward direction,-saidspring and the lowerplate and that various modificationsand. changes ml;

the organization of be made without the invention or the scope of theclaims, What I claim is: I a 7 parts and in the details may havinginterengaging means including a transverse coil' portion and an'anchoring extension ,on the spring whereby the springis interlockeddeparting from the principle of 1. In a hood latch of the typecomprising upper and lower'plates of which the upper carries 'a'de-*with said plate and seated thereagainst with the keeper in the latchingposition increasing the firmness of the seating.

5. Ahood latch or the kind setrortn in claim 4 in which the coil portionof the spring is seated pending rigid keeper-with a flattened headhaving 1 a narrow lower edge, said keeper in the latching positionoccupying a slot in the lower plate with the lower edge of the keeperhead substantially plate being provided rearwardly of the keeperdirection, said spring'being'formed of wire and having a coil portionlocated forwardly'of the below the plane of the lower plate, the lowerwith-detent means adapted to overlie the keeper keeper at the undersurfaceof thelower plate and. s

abutted against av projecting portion. of said'plate, i i said springhaving a lower integral continuation from. the coil portion extendingacross and'en.-

keeper head, and

gaging the loweredge of the said spring having integral rearwardlydisposed anchoring portions extending from the coil portion above thebail portion interlocked with the plate to hold the spring in-positionin-pressing re.

. lation to the keeper head.

2. In a hood latch comprising upper and-lower .platesof which the uppercarries a depending rigid keeper with a flattened head having anarrowlower edge, said keeper in the latching position occupying a slot in thelower plate. with the lower edge of the keeper head substantially belowthe plane of the lower plate, the lower plate being provided with detentmeans adapted to overlie l the keeper head, a spring located at theunder portion of the lower plate and acting on the lower edge of thekeeper head for urging the keeper in an upward direction, said springand the lower plate having interengagingmeans whereby the with saidplateand seated thereagainst with the position increasing the firmnessof theseating. 3. In a hood latch compri'singupper and lower keeper in thelatching lie the keeper in an -angular portion oftheplate, the bailportion extendingfrom ,the, coil portion at a lower with asocket' formedin the plate.

' 6; In a hood latch comprising upper and lower, plates of which theupper carries a depending rigid keeper with a flattenedhead havinganarrow lower edge 'said keeper in the latching position occupying a-slot in the lower' plate with the lower edge'of the keeperheadsub'stantially below the plane of the lower plate,'the plate havingdownturned lips, at therespective sides: V 'ofthe slotand having amovable detentmember' mounted thereon-adapted to overlie; the keeper 1head, a spring located at the "under portion of 1 the lower plate andhaving a transverse bail'porloweredge of the keeper head for urging thekeeper in an upward direction, I which bail portion when-the keeper islifted out of thelower plate lies against and across the lips tionacting on the of said slot-and means for interlocking the springrigid'keeper, the. lower 'plate having mounted thereon movabledetentmeans adapted to overtolatch the hood, a-sp'ring located at. the underportion of the lower plate and acting on the keeper from beneath forurging the r keeper and upper plate in an upward direction, said springand the lower plate having intere engaging means whereby-the spring isinterlocked seated thereagainstwith they. I I keeper in the latchingposition increasing the, flrmness of the seating. plates of which theupper carries a depending with said plate and f ARTHUR, CLAUD7MAN'ILE.

, 3 rigid keeper with a flattened head having a para row 'loweredg saidkeeper in the latching posi- 1 tion occupyinga slot in the. lower platewiththe lower edge of the keeper head substantially-below g theplanezofthe lower plate, thelower plate being I provided rearwardlyofthe keeper with detent'? means adapted to overliethe keeper head and

